- JD Vance admits his “indentured servants” rhetoric was “imperfect”
- He says the remark targeted companies and the visa system, not H-1B workers
- India had called the language “deeply offensive”
- Indians account for more than 70 percent of approved H-1B petitions
VICE PRESIDENT JD Vance has acknowledged that his rhetoric was “imperfect” when he described foreign professionals on H-1B visas as “indentured servants,” but defended the substance of his criticism.
Vance said his remark was aimed at US companies and the visa system, not at H-1B holders. India had objected strongly to the comment, calling the language “deeply offensive” and saying it carried painful historical and colonial connotations.
“I would say, and to the extent that my rhetoric has been imperfect here, that’s on me,” Vance said at a CBS News town hall Saturday.
JD Vance backs abolishing H-1B visas, calling programme ‘completely broken’
He was responding to a question from an Indian immigrant who became a US citizen five years ago and voted for President Donald Trump.
‘Not a criticism of the H-1B holder’
Vance said the visa system gives employers too much power over foreign workers, whose visas are their “only lifeline” to the United States.
“When they come in on an H-1B, they’re very often coming in, and the company is certifying that they’re doing a job that they can’t find an alternative American labor applicant for,” he said.
“So when I say an indentured servant, that’s not a criticism of the H-1B visa holder. That’s a criticism of a company that brings a person in. It’s a criticism of the visa system that allows people to be treated effectively as indentured servants that can be shipped back to their country of origin.”
Indian in-laws
Vance also referred to his wife’s family as he called for a balance between welcoming foreign professionals and protecting American workers. Second lady Usha Vance is the daughter of Indian immigrants.
India slams Vance’s comment as 'colonial', calls America’s history 'shaped by immigrants'
“I love my mother-in-law and father-in-law who immigrated from South India, and obviously their daughter, born in the United States of America, is now the second lady, and I’m very proud of her, and I love her very much,” he said.
“Nobody’s perfect, certainly not me. But my goal here is not to dehumanize any immigrant, and in fact, I love a number of immigrants.”
Green card crackdown
Vance had previously called H-1B workers “foreign indentured servants” and described companies using the program as “visa mills.”
Earlier this month, Vance announced that several firms, including Indian IT companies, had been suspended from a program that lets foreign workers apply for green cards, with the administration arguing the practice had shut Americans out of jobs.
Indian professionals account for more than 70 percent of approved H-1B petitions each year.
(With inputs from PTI)
